Despite
a nearly lifelong affinity for the sport, I've never really found the games to
be half as interesting as the real deal. I'd still get them year in and year out,
so I've kept up with both Sega and EA's offerings as the years have rolled on,
but I've wound up returning every single one of them after a month or so. That
same argument that many magazines adhere to also worked for me: I'm a gamer, dammit,
not a sports gamer. If I want real excitement from watching a bunch of grown men
tackle each other, showboat for the camera and slap each other's asses, there
are cable channels for that. No need to shell out another fifty bucks.
But for twenty bucks? That's another story. The previous two times I took a new
game for a price of $20 were Virtua Fighter 4: Evolution and Beyond
Good and Evil. The former I would have gladly paid $50 for, but the latter
turned out to be a phenomenal payoff for such a comparatively small amount of
money, ironic considering the price is the only reason I grabbed it in the first
place. Visual Concepts certainly had the same "knee-jerk buy" idea here, since
they kicked their game out a full three weeks before The Big M and dropped the
price to less than half that of the competition. It sold me, who had no real interest
in it before I walked into the game shop, and I'm sure I wasn't the only one.
Well,
the $20 rule continues to hold true here. ESPN NFL 2K5 is the best football
game I've ever played, period. Not only is this a fantastic game for football
fans, but gamers from nearly every walk of life will almost certainly find this
game enjoyable, and at its current price, there's fairly little risk in picking
it up anyway. If you've never really been a sports game fan, this is the perfect
opportunity to take the plunge. If you're into sports games and haven't completely
sold your soul to Madden yet, then this should be a no-brainer -- it's
the best $20 you'll ever spend on a game.
While Sega's series has always
had its own die-hard fans, there was usually no question as to which was the more
authentic football experience: EA's. With the 2005 games, Sega has closed that
gap. Right away, the first big thing that's noticeable is ESPN's touch all over
the place. This is a good thing. ESPN bought out the series last year, giving
it a much-needed boost in presentation, but that comes together here much more
elegantly than it did last year. Chris Berman, Suzy Kolber, and other members
of the crew all step it up a notch with countless lines of recorded dialogue to
go with their virtual likenesses, giving the pre-recorded lines a better amount
of variation and personality. In addition to the spot-on commentary, you get ESPN-style
halftime and endgame reports, complete with highlight coverage of the game, and
interviews with game MVPs. It even has mid-game breakdowns complete with graphical
overlays true to the genuine article. Despite being in control of the action,
all these presentation effects go the extra mile to dress the game up as a genuine
broadcast, which means the game is almost as much fun to watch as it is to play.
This is helped along by the best graphics ever seen in a football game.
Detail here is astounding, particularly on the player jerseys, which look photo-realistic.
Players have the appearance of some slight normal mapping (I think, anyway), so
they all cast self-shadows and their pads and helmets react dynamically to the
presence of light on the field no matter how cluttered the game gets. During replays
in particular, the visuals are downright jaw-dropping, making more than a few
people I know look twice, unsure at first glace if they were watching a videogame
or a television program. There's a bit of slowdown when things get truly hectic
onscreen, but it's only when you've got over a dozen players wandering around
in close-up and stat overlays flying all over the place.
The environmental
graphics are just as nice. Depending on the time of day, the time of year, and
the mood of the weather, each game can have a dramatically different feel to it.
Playing in the dark, cold rain in a windy night game is a completely different
battle than a comfy domed arena with Astroturf and heating. It's those inconsequential-yet-important
details that go a long way in maintaining the feel of the real game.
Now, as pretty as the graphics are, the sound is better. In addition to all the
voices and arena noises, you get the usual crowd noises, tackle hits, QB taunts
and so forth. All good so far, which is where we get to the music. Sega simply
doesn't have EA's clout when it comes to signing big-name bands, but they managed
to one-up them nonetheless by allowing players to rip their own music to the hard
drive and insert it into the game. Not just into the menus, mind you, but into
the football game itself, complete with a mixer for shortening songs or just using
specific parts of them, and a flagging system to assign them to specific events.
Want The Pixies' Monkey Gone to Heaven to kick in every time you make a two-point
conversion? Dizzee Rascal's Fix Up Look Sharp for a TD? How about Adam Freeland's
Fear for an interception or the 5,6,7,8's Woo Hoo for a sack? Whatever you want,
it goes in the game complete with an echo effect as it pumps out of the stadium
speakers, and the result is too cool for words. Seeing your team strut their stuff
to your favorite tunes beats the stuffing out of whatever musical train wreck
is normally included with any other football game, and it lets you get around
all those pesky licensing issues. Putting Battle Without Honor or Humanity from
the Kill Bill vol. 1 CD as the stadium intro music is automatically the
coolest thing ever, and I can only pray someone at ESPN figures this out and blackmails
the appropriate people to allow it in a real broadcast.
Of course, this
applies only to the Xbox version of the game. Visual Concepts has specifically
built NFL 2K5 from the ground up to take advantage of the Xbox. From there
they squeezed it onto the PS2 instead of doing it the other way around, as they
have before. On the upside, Xbox owners get to take advantage of all the goodies
that usually get left out of sports games. On the downside, PS2 owners get the
shaft (slightly) when it comes to extras. The graphical fidelity takes a noticeable
hit, as does the framerate, but worse is the fact that all the cool music options
are left out, as are (oddly) the halftime review replays. It's not a big deal
as far as the actual gameplay goes, but the game still loses a little bit of its
luster on the trip down the console ladder.
Even with some of the side
dished trimmed, the main course remains the same from version to version. The
core game is a pleasant rehash of all the things that made the previous Sega NFL
games great with nearly all of the player complaints addressed. No longer will
marquee backs be able to shake off four tackles for a first down every single
play; the running game isn't the ridiculous weapon it once was. In addition, this
year implements a new "Maximum Tackle" system, allowing the defense to either
wrap their arms around the runner for a textbook tackle, or just shoulder-ram
the poor sod as hard as possible to prevent them from dragging any extra yards
on the play (and, if you're lucky, force a fumble!)
This goes a long
way to reeling in the run, so when the time comes to pass, both defense and offense
are fully customizable from the line of scrimmage and beyond. Passes can be floated
to a receiver in coverage or bulleted in if they're open. Defense can pinch their
line in to prevent a center run or spread them to protect the corners, assign
man or zone coverage, and do everything you'd expect. Savvy players will quickly
learn that each and every play can be adjusted man-by-man if need be, so if you
see your buddy calling up a hot route to take advantage of a hole in your line,
call up your own and get a man on him. All this becomes second nature after a
while, and within a couple hours not a play went by where either myself or my
opponent were trying to fake each other out with bogus audibles, adjusting hot
routes left and right, and generally just psyching each other out as much as possible.
If all this sounds complicated, it is, but the game does an excellent
job of clarifying everything with two training videos for offense and defense.
If you're new to the game, these will get you up to speed, and the rest of the
in-game manual will serve you well. You can read up on football terminology, play
practice games geared for specific circumstances, check out what all the art means,
and generally beef up your knowledge of the game.
When all is said and
done, the game plays like a real game of football. Multiplayer is (as usual) the
more frantic way to play -- the manual even makes a reference to the fact that
gamers will often "go for it" even with ridiculous odds, like "4th and 12 at your
own five yard line" -- while the single-player game is much more grounded. Everything
occurs generally like you'd expect it to, whether you're grinding away on the
ground or going for the big plays, anyone who's seen a few games of football can
judge the odds for themselves pretty accurately. You're not going to automatically
be intercepted if you throw a Hail Mary into triple coverage, but it's not something
you want to be doing on a regular basis.
For single player, Franchise
Mode is the serious meat of the game, and it's got some clever implementations
that make this more than just a string of games in a row. When the week starts,
you're given the option to scout the opposition. You can see what plays they like
to make, who they use, etc. and tailor your line accordingly. In addition, the
mode assumes an almost RPG-like element with the player training option. You have
40 hours total per day to assign players, either by group or individual, to specific
tasks to get them ready for the game. You can start them out with some films of
the opposition to get them ready for what they're going to face, then maybe some
time in the weight room followed by specific play practice and 7-on-7 scrimmage
matches with no pads, and finish the week off with a half-day of rest and maybe
some acupuncture to keep everyone's energy level up. It's a lot of tinkering,
but the end result really pays off in a noticeable way. A well-tuned week of prep
work can make all the difference when pitting a lower-ranked team up against something
like the Pat's juggernaut defense.
Franchise mode also accommodates all
the other features we've come to expect, like player drafting and contract re-negotiation.
All these features can be set to auto if you're unsure of yourself or simply don't
want to have to deal with it, but even so it's best to keep an eye on the computer
regardless, as it will occasionally make some rather screwy decisions on your
behalf if you let it. It's also beneficial to tailor your team's needs on a person-to-person
basis if you want to take the franchise seriously. This is done by allowing injured
players more recuperation time and making sure that you swap out some of your
secondary teams once in a while so your entire game doesn't rest on the shoulders
of a few players. This keeps team focus up and lets your primetime players stay
active without getting overworked.
In a nice touch, the week can be rounded
out with a special presentation of ESPN's Sports Center, where Chris Berman will
go over a detailed report of each game of the week, complete with a highlight
reel, injury report, and any trades that may have taken place. This cool feature
really gives the appearance that the league is up and running apart from just
the games the player participates in. A small touch, but very cool nonetheless.
One thing definitely worth mentioning is the difficulty. The single player
game, at the default difficulty setting of "Pro", is laughably easy, and setting
it one notch lower practically renders the A.I. comatose. Anyone with any experience
whatsoever can basically trot their way to the Superbowl with next to no effort,
and game scores in the 80s aren't uncommon. This is obviously nowhere even close
to realistic, so most people will want to set the difficulty to "All-Pro" and
never look back. This allows for a much more authentic game while still stacking
the odds (slightly) in the player's favor. For the power mad, you can create your
own custom difficulty, should you want the A.I. to be lopsided in its competency.
Useful for training against human opponents who like their passing game a bit
too much, for example. If you're living with the same person you're likely to
be playing against, however, then you have another option entirely, and it's a
cool one.
What's really interesting about the single player game is how
the computer keeps track of the player. When you start the game, you're prompted
to input a name under which all your stats will be saved. Every game you play,
every play you make, and everything in between is recorded and analyzed under
your profile, which has a twofold effect. For one, the computer can become quite
competent at adjusting to favored plays and tactics. Corey Dillon ran for well
over 200 yards in the first few games I played, but it didn't take long before
the A.I. added in some extra effort to keep him from eating them up like that.
For another -- and this works a lot better than you'd think -- other people can
challenge your profile when you're not around.
Here's a hypothetical
situation: my girlfriend decides to take up the game, but gets frustrated by losing
to me the first time we play. One day, while I'm at work, she fires up the game
and plays several games in a row versus my Virtual Identity Profile for practice.
She figures out the plays I like to call and learns to counter them. Next time
we take each other on, she's going to know my habits without having actually played
me in person. Not only does this work well, it's sometimes downright creepy how
accurately the computer can ape your playing style after only a single season.
It's sort of a weird nod to what Sega did with Virtua Fighter 4, and it's
something that will hopefully become standard issue in sports games from here
on out.
It's cool stuff, and rounds out an almost fat-free football package.
There are a few snags with the leftover extras, though. One thing that's sort
of neat but most people will probably wind up ignoring is "The Crib", Visual Concepts'
nod to the MTV generation playa-wannabes in the audience. As you play games, you
rack up "crib points" that can be spent on trappings for your virtual house, anything
from limited-edition team-branded guitars to Ikea-ish furniture to big-screen
TVs. Crib points can also be spent on unlocking hidden teams, stadiums, and cheats,
which is probably where most players' money will go first. The whole thing is
sort of pointless, but it's an inoffensive bit of fluff that adds a collection
feature to the game for those who want to see all their trophies in visual form.
The one aspect of the game that's genuinely poor is it's "Challenge a
Celebrity" feature, where various D-list celebs will challenge you to a game versus
their own VIPs. This doesn't make a whole lot of sense in the grand scheme of
things (Carmen Electra? Steve-O? Howzabout some real football players, eh?) When
challenged, the game will mimic a two-player game with the chosen celebrity's
mugshot periodically popping up to say something irritating as you play. If you
didn't know that Funkmaster Flex has the most annoying voice this side of Fran
Drescher, that's really all you're going to take away from this mode. You get
some crib points for winning the matches, but my advice is to stay away from this
particular part of the game. It's not necessary to play and in no way hurts the
rest of the game's stellar presentation, so it's not something I'm going to dock
any points for, but it's worth mentioning.
Lastly, we've got play over
Xbox Live, and Sega's gone the extra mile here by allowing their own fantasy leagues.
This really takes fantasy football to a new level, though at the time of this
review, there didn't seem to be a whole lot of people taking advantage of this
feature (though there were plenty of regular matches to be played). Here's hoping
people start to use it, because for the serious football geeks, that's as good
as online play is probably ever going to get. The game is still more fun face-to-face,
so it's not going to be the reason to get Live if you haven't already, but given
all the work that went into the offline game, it's nice to see such a well-implemented
internet mode. It's the sort of thing you'd expect standard from a PC game, and
it's nice to see console versions catching up.
Overall:
9/10
With ESPN NFL 2K5, Sega and Visual Concepts truly make the great
football race a two-man game again. There's more than enough here to keep everyone
happy, and it's all good enough that you'll never need to go anywhere else for
your gridiron kick. And at such a low price, this game should easily be on everyone's
"must have" list.
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top ] |
If
you read a lot of gaming publications, you notice that many of them relegate the
sports games to special sections and use sports-specific reviewers to cover them.
It makes a lot of sense in one regard, since knowledge of the rules is important
in considering how to structure the write-up (a partition I wish they'd implement
for reviews of 2D fighters) but at the same time, the message is obvious: you
have your sports games, and then you have your game games. Whoever's out there
rocking 
